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Goose Creek is a city of about 46,000 people in Berkeley County, South Carolina, about 20 miles north of downtown Charleston. It takes its name from the creek that winds through the area, where English colonists from Barbados settled in the late 1600s and built some of the earliest plantations in the Carolina Lowcountry. The modern city was incorporated in 1961 and grew quickly as a suburb, with the Naval Weapons Station of Joint Base Charleston on its eastern edge.
The area's most important historic site is St. James Church, Goose Creek, completed around 1719 and one of the oldest church buildings in South Carolina. Its stuccoed brick walls, arched windows and quiet churchyard sit behind an old gate among live oaks and pines. The Goose Creek Reservoir, on the city's south side, is used for fishing and paddling.
Goose Creek is a good base for exploring Berkeley County. Moncks Corner, a short drive north, has Old Santee Canal Park with boardwalks through swamp forest, Cypress Gardens with boat rides on black-water swamp, and Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery with gardens on the Cooper River. Lake Moultrie is known for fishing, and the Francis Marion National Forest offers trails through longleaf pine. Downtown Charleston and the shops of North Charleston are about half an hour away.
St. James Church in Goose Creek is an early eighteenth century Anglican parish church and a National Historic Landmark, known for its stucco walls and well preserved colonial interior. It sits in a quiet wooded churchyard with old graves. The grounds can be visited, but interior access is limited to special openings.
Mepkin Abbey is a Trappist monastery on the Cooper River with peaceful gardens, oak-lined grounds and a simple church where the monks pray daily. Visitors can walk the botanical gardens, join a guided tour and shop for monastery-made goods. Keep noise low and check visiting hours before driving out.
Goose Creek Reservoir is a large lake on the edge of town, popular for fishing, kayaking and small boating among cypress trees and marsh. It is a local spot for bass and bream anglers. Bring your own kayak or boat, as facilities are basic, and watch for alligators along the shoreline.
Cypress Gardens is a blackwater cypress swamp and garden north of Goose Creek where visitors paddle flat-bottom boats through mirror-like water among towering trees. It also has a butterfly house, an aquarium and walking trails. It has appeared in several films. Visit in spring when azaleas bloom along the banks.
Lake Moultrie is a large reservoir north of Goose Creek, part of the Santee Cooper lake system, known for catfish and striped bass fishing. The Palmetto Trail follows its dike for long walks and bike rides with wide water views. Bring water and sun protection, since there is little shade on the dike.
Francis Marion National Forest covers a vast area of pine savanna, swamp and Carolina bays east of Goose Creek. It offers hiking on the Swamp Fox Passage of the Palmetto Trail, paddling, camping and birding for rare woodpeckers. Use insect repellent and check trail conditions after heavy rain.
Old Santee Canal Park in nearby Moncks Corner preserves part of the Santee Canal, one of America's first summit canals, with boardwalks through swamp, a historic house and the Berkeley Museum. Visitors can rent canoes to paddle Biggin Creek. Allow a couple of hours to walk the trails and see the museum.
Crowfield Plantation Ruins are the brick remains of an eighteenth century plantation house, now set within the Crowfield neighborhood of Goose Creek. The site recalls the area's colonial rice and indigo era and the enslaved people who worked the land. It is a quick stop; view the ruins respectfully from public areas.
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South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
South Carolina, United States
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